9-Day Masai Mara, Lake Nakuru, Amboseli, Lake Manyara & Ngorongoro Safari

Day-by-day itinerary

Route: Nairobi → Masai Mara → Lake Nakuru → Amboseli → Arusha → Lake Manyara → Ngorongoro → Arusha

1. Day 1

   Nairobi to Masai Mara

   The day opens in Nairobi with a morning departure for Masai Mara, descending the wall of the Great Rift Valley and passing through Narok and Maasai farming country. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem. Look for lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game as the light softens through the afternoon. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. You return for dinner and an overnight stay at Masai Mara.

2. Day 2

   Full-Day Masai Mara Safari

   An unhurried full day in Masai Mara gives your guide room to follow whatever the morning turns up. Your route takes in open savanna grassland, acacia stands and the rolling country of the greater Mara ecosystem, with your guide reading recent movement to decide where to spend time. There is the possibility of seeing lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, buffalo and large herds of plains game, though wild sightings are never guaranteed. A full day allows morning and late-afternoon drives when animals are most active, with the option of a picnic lunch out in the reserve. The reserve is best known for its big cat densities, and between roughly July and October the wildebeest migration commonly moves through the ecosystem. Transport and game drives are shared with other travellers on this joining departure. You return to your camp or lodge for dinner and a second night at Masai Mara.

3. Day 3

   Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru

   Following an early breakfast, the day begins with the road transfer from Masai Mara to Lake Nakuru, travelling through the Rift Valley floor and the farming towns of the Nakuru region. Once you reach Lake Nakuru there is time to check in before heading out among a Rift Valley soda lake ringed by yellow-barked acacia woodland and steep escarpment viewpoints. Look for black and white rhino, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck and dense birdlife as the light softens through the afternoon. The park operates as a sanctuary and is one of Kenya's more reliable places to look for rhino; flamingo numbers on the lake rise and fall with water levels. Dinner is served at your Lake Nakuru camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

4. Day 4

   Lake Nakuru to Amboseli

   After breakfast you leave Lake Nakuru and travel on toward Amboseli, travelling south past Kajiado and through Maasai rangeland toward the Tanzanian border country. Arrival is followed by check-in and a first drive into open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. This is good country in which to look for large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. Dinner is served at your Amboseli camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

5. Day 5

   Full-Day Amboseli Safari

   A full day in Amboseli allows you to explore well beyond the areas reached on a short visit. Much of the day is spent among open plains, dust flats and spring-fed swamps beneath the bulk of Kilimanjaro. Sightings may include large elephant herds, buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, and abundant water birds around the swamps, depending on season and conditions. The swamps stay green through dry months, drawing elephants and plains game into concentrated, highly photographable groups. Amboseli is known for its free-ranging elephant families, and on clear mornings Mount Kilimanjaro often rises above the plains, though cloud can hide it. Dinner and overnight are again at your Amboseli camp or lodge.

6. Day 6

   Amboseli to Arusha

   The morning starts in Amboseli, from where you continue overland to Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. The evening is spent at your Arusha accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

7. Day 7

   Arusha to Lake Manyara

   The day opens in Arusha with a morning departure for Lake Manyara, driving west from Arusha past Maasai settlements and the escarpment wall. You arrive in time to settle in, and the day continues with a game drive across groundwater forest, open floodplain and an alkaline lake beneath the Rift Valley escarpment. Your guide works the area for elephant, baboon troops, hippo, giraffe and large numbers of waterbirds including flamingo, with sightings varying by season and conditions. Manyara is known for its groundwater forest fed by springs at the base of the escarpment, and for lions that are sometimes seen resting in trees. Dinner is served at your Lake Manyara camp or lodge, where you spend the night.

8. Day 8

   Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro

   After breakfast you leave Lake Manyara and travel on toward Ngorongoro, climbing the forested crater highlands to the rim viewpoint. After check-in and a chance to freshen up, you head out into a collapsed volcanic caldera roughly six hundred metres deep, with grassland, soda lake and fever-tree forest on its floor. Wildlife commonly associated with this area includes lion, elephant, buffalo, flamingo and one of the few remaining populations where black rhino may be seen. The crater floor holds a resident concentration of wildlife year-round because the caldera walls create a largely self-contained ecosystem. The evening is spent at your Ngorongoro accommodation, with dinner and overnight there.

9. Day 9

   Ngorongoro Crater to Arusha

   After breakfast you leave Ngorongoro Crater and travel on toward Arusha, continuing through the farmland and Maasai country below Mount Meru. Lunch and check-in come first, then an afternoon drive through northern Tanzania's safari gateway town below the slopes of Mount Meru. Arusha is the staging point for the northern Tanzania circuit and where most safari briefings take place. The day ends with a drop-off in Nairobi at your hotel or the airport.